Sam Stone
Staff Writer
Sam Stone reports on nearly everything for BA, including food culture, restaurant news, and sneaky cooking ideas that (hopefully) make your life easier. A Rhode Island native, he’s currently based in New York City where he can usually be found searching out the city’s best bakeries. Before BA, he spent years working in fine dining while also writing for several publications about food, queer culture, entertainment, and how they intersect. In his free time, Sam occasionally writes humor pieces like this one. samstone.nyc
Cooking
A Bold and Buttery Taste Test of 7 Microwave Popcorn Brands
Between all the salt and butter, there was one brand we could agree on.
Culture
A TikTok Ban Could Devastate a Whole Generation of Food Creators
For budding chefs and food creators, the app has been vital for their career. They’re worried about what would happen if a ban becomes reality.
Culture
Inside the Very Real (and Very Complicated) World of Luxury Water Collectors
Water sommeliers taste and collect expensive bottled water as if they’re fine wines. What does it mean to elevate water to this level of luxury?
Culture
I Let TikTok Tell Me What to Eat For a Week. The Results Were… Mixed
Would the famously nosy FYP know exactly what I wanted to cook and eat?
Cooking
Make This Brown Butter Chocolate Soufflé for Passover
Or any holiday, or dinner party, or just because.
Cooking
Which Boxed Brownies Are the Best? A Blind Taste Test of Betty Crocker, Trader Joe’s, Ghirardelli, and More
There is one clear winner, whether you prefer a corner piece or the gooey center.
Culture
Is Gen Z Binge Drinking More… Responsibly Than I Used to?
Millennials had Edward Fortyhands. College students are mixing alcohol with water and Pedialyte.
Cooking
The Secret to the Silkiest Queso? Sodium Citrate
Yes, you can order it online (and use it for all sorts of cheesy recipes).
Cooking
When’s the Last Time You Cleaned Your Dishwasher Filter?
First step: Locate dishwasher filter. Second step: Make it sparkle.
Cooking
A Crispy, Salty Taste Test of 7 Potato Chip Brands
From the shatteringly crisp, to the bland and crumbly.
Culture
The Zombie Fungi That Inspired ‘The Last of Us’ Is Actually Edible—And Super Common
It won’t turn you into a zombie. Instead, it’s typically eaten for health and medicinal purposes.
Restaurants
What Happens In the Mysterious World of Private Restaurants? I Decided to Find Out
Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, and plenty of politicians are among the fans of private restaurants, where entry fees can be as high as $300K. Are they worth the cost?
Shopping
If You’re into Obscure Pasta Shapes, It’s a Good Time to Be You
Plus two new stand mixers, a nonalcoholic spritz for amari lovers, and a Dutch oven that has us dreaming of spring.
Culture
Welcome to the Marthaverse: Why You’re Seeing Martha Stewart Everywhere
When some celebrities do everything, they risk losing their brand. But Martha Stewart turns everything she touches—vodka, lighters, cat litter—into Martha.
Culture
Welcome to the Reward Wars, Where Food Chains Go Desperate for Your Loyalty
NFTs. Airline miles. Reservation “concierges.” Food chains’ rewards programs are becoming more and more chaotic.
Restaurants
In-N-Out Is Finally Expanding Eastward After Years of Denials
The first outpost of the expansion will open in Nashville…in 2026.
Cooking
6 Tiny Pastas to Fill the Pastina-Shaped Hole in Your Heart
Ronzoni's pastina has been discontinued—but there are lots of little pastas to know and love.
Restaurants
Noma Is Closing for Good, Saying Fine Dining Is ‘Unsustainable’
The Copenhagen restaurant that defined an era of fine dining announced that it will close its doors in 2024.
Culture
They’re Just Filming TikToks of Themselves Eating at Chain Restaurants, But I’m Transfixed
Dakota Wright, or @printfairy, is capturing the very, very simple joy of a chain restaurant meal with loved ones.